


Placebo

by Jayden123



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, Love Triangle, Metahumans, Superpowers, X-Men AU - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:26:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5094059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayden123/pseuds/Jayden123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being caught up in an awkward love triangle between two bestfriend's is always messy for any average person. But Cloud, unfortunately, has the added perk of being part of a group of very special people most likely because of that tiny fact that he could move objects with his mind. </p><p>AU, Slash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cloud I

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE:
> 
> Okay, so this is the first chapter. It's a little rough. But please review and tell me what you think and if you liked this version than the one before? It may seem a little draggy but once it kick starts I assure you it'll be amazing as it seems inside my head. I have so much planned for this; I can't wait to pan out the relationships of this story. Because that's what this story is actually about. I'm not focusing too much on the powers and mutation aspect of it because for me it's a subplot. It's about character growth, of Cloud as a person in general.
> 
> READ AND REVIEW AND SPREAD THIS STORY AROUND PLEASE. :')
> 
> And if uh you're interested in being a character in this don't hesitate and I'll see what I can do. Because apart from the main 12 people, I'm going to be using OC's here and there like in this chapter. A lot of OC's here. I rather write OC's then OOC fandom characters and screw them up.

As far as he could remember, Cloud could do things he knew normal people couldn't. It started out when he was five years old. He remembered being sprawled onto the rough grassy ground of his Kindergarten playground, sniffling as he glared angrily at Aaron Williams who stood grinning at him toothily, his apple juice in the bully's grubby hand. A whole crowd of children had gathered around them, murmuring to themselves, no one daring to intervene and anger the class' most viscous and shot tempered member as he stood there, his two best friends by his side, a smug childish expression on his face, looking down at the fallen blond.

The next thing he remembered was a loud burst, sweet sticky apple juice flying everywhere, Aaron's eyes widening in sudden fright as he instinctively jumped backwards, bumping into Carter and Sammy, his bright red T-shirt rapidly staining into a dark brown.

For a very long time Cloud had paid no attention to that particular memory, brushing it away as an accident, just an unintentionally firm squeeze from Aaron's behalf and nothing more. But as he grew older, strange events begin to follow, initially insignificant but slowly becoming more and more noticeable.

There would times he wouldn't remember taking out clothes from his closet but as he'd turn around, they'd be there neatly folded on his bed. Sometimes he'd be playing Tag with his friend Tifa Lockhart and Hunter Lane from down the street and often and, if he was the one chasing them, their shoelaces would end up being tied weirdly in a tight knot making them fall or on other occasions they'd trip on air for no reason whatsoever. Often he'd leave his room neat and tidy after hours of cleaning up and trudge downstairs for a little snack and come back up to find it messier than ever, books and stencils splayed out all over the carpet, bed sheet's messed up, clothes haphazardly strewn all over the floor. Cloud would often get scolded for locking his bedroom door before sleeping the night before and making it difficult for his mother to wake him up for school the next day and yet having no memory of ever doing the act.

Cloud had known Joseph Locke ever since he was three years old. The brunette had lived three houses down from his own with his mother before he mysteriously left for a boarding school. He remembered how their teachers would eye Joseph sometimes, their faces drawn tight, eyes cold and withdrawn, how Tifa's father threw a fit when he saw them playing together one day as he arrived to pick her up from school. He remembered how his mother whispered to his father in small soft murmurs whenever he came over to play with him and welcomed Joey with smiles that never reached their eyes. Nibelheim was a relatively small town, everyone knew almost everyone. Friends were easy to make when you had only a handful of people in your class, and yet no one approached Joey except for Cloud and, for a while, Tifa. Even Aaron, who didn't let a day pass without pushing Hunter or him into the ground roughly, stayed away from him. The blond never understood why and what Joey had done to deserve such cold brutal isolation from everyone in the neighborhood as a kid. His parents would only brush off the idea and assure him everyone loved little Joseph and if Tifa knew something, on occasions when she'd look at the brown haired boy and have a distant wary expression in her eyes as her father dragged her away at home time, she never told him.

It was on his tenth birthday when Cloud had been playing hide and seek with Joey and they were both dashing around hallways, ducking past their fellow friends and classmates from school, ignoring their parents warning them to slow down and stop making a ruckus, when something happened.

They had snuck outside and were scrambling to climb the rope ladder that led to Cloud's tiny little tree house, Hunter's voice loud and playful as he counted back from twenty, when Joey's foot had slipped and, losing his balance, he roughly came down landing on his back with a scream so shrill Cloud hadn't heard ever before. He remembered the living room windows, which stood tall and wide and looked out into their garden, bursting with a loud crash. He remembered people screaming from the inside, Joey looking around in confusion, meeting Cloud's own confused and startled blue ones, and everyone rushing out to see what had happened.

The blond hadn't seen Joey afterwards anymore, his mother had grounded him for some reason, and within a week or so he had reported to have left for a boarding school without so much as a note or a goodbye. His mother had gone with him, and from what he heard, no one had come to see Mrs. Locke a farewell at the bus station and they had gone off alone. Julie and David Strife never acknowledged that incident, or that someone had lived in that house before the Davis couple moved in half a year later.

It was only when he was eleven that something happened which made him realize something was wrong. He had been perched dangerously on a swivel chair and struggling to stand still as he tried to reach upwards with his hands for his favorite brand new pair of sneakers from the top of his cupboard. He had leaned upwards, tiptoeing slightly, as the chair gave away and fell from underneath his feet that he had come crashing down on his face with a startled scream as, simultaneously, the light bulb on the wall next to his cupboard burst into tiny pieces, delicate pieces of glass shattering softly on the carpet.

Soon after Cloud's eleventh birthday, after the light bulb incident that his parent's hadn't thought much off, thing's started changing. He'd been out in the garden once, sitting cross-legged on the soft ground which was still wet from the rain earlier that morning, a pile of pebbles that had taken all day yesterday scattered in front of the blond. The blond had sat there for an entire half an hour, bright blue eyes narrowed and focused intently on the gathered pebbles, willing for something to happen to convince him that it wasn't all in his head. Eventually he had gone inside when he heard Julie come back from the store and setting up the groceries in the kitchen.

It was only after a small snack when he was asked to fetch the vacuum cleaner from the garage for Julie. Cloud had been passing by the garden and on his way to their dusty garage when he noticed it. The pebbles that had been spread out haphazardly were arranged in an eerily straight line. Cloud had stood frozen for a couple of minutes, an indescribable feeling bubbling in his stomach; before he rushed quickly back inside.

As he lay in his bed, rolled over on one side, images of Joey kept appearing behind his eyes. How his mother had looked at him, eyes wide and frozen, silent as everyone gathered around the two boys and the shattered pieces of glass surrounding them. How sweet, peaceful, kind Nibelheim had shunned him even when he was a child, whispered behind his back, turning their backs on an innocent boy and his mother who had love everyone as they were her own family. The woman who baked the most delicious brownies and biscuits and gave them to everyone who desired, who was present at every child's birthday party a huge lovely gift in hand, who was there when Tifa's mother died and helped Mr Lockhart get back on his feet, who had comforted and nursed Cloud and Hunter whenever they got injured playing at school and passed by her house, the woman who was always eager to lend out a helping hand.

Cloud slept with images of Julie and David throwing him out, Tifa and Hunter turning their backs on him. He dreamt of Joey, little Joey with wide innocent eyes and a cheerful smile who had lived his entire life in isolation.

That was the first night of many when Cloud woke up to his bedroom being a mess, chairs fallen down, paintings on the floor, bookshelf collapsed and books scattering the carpet, cupboard open and clothes everywhere, and the blond himself covered in cold sweat.

* * *

"So do you want me to talk to him about this? We both know how bad you are at this sort of stuff." Julie turned to her husband, placing the last clean dish into the shelf, as David leaned into the counter, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What if- I mean, Jules are we sure about this? I mean. Is it really that necessary? Cloud doesn't need to go. We're doing good. He's fine. No one even knows about it." David turned to Julie, folding his arms across his chest.

The woman turned to the tall brunette, staring at him incredulously, "Are you serious? Dave, for a very long time Cloud couldn't even move a book willingly. Yesterday afternoon he had a nightmare during his nap and the entire lounge was shaking. I'm worried okay? About him."

Her husband ran a clumsy hand through his hair in frustration, his eyes heavy and frustrated. "But this is fucking Midgar. Cloud can't even walk back home from school without getting injured. In Nibelheim. And you want to send him off for boarding school?"

Julie swiped messy blonde bangs from her foreheads, "Do you think I want this? This is my baby boy. This is Cloud. But you know this. This is for his own good. I'm scared, okay? I'm scared for us. I'm scared for him. This is getting out of our control"

"What do we even know about this fucking Rufus guy? Don't you think it's a little shady how he contacts us a few days after the Christmas fiasco? Who knows what kind of place he's got running over there."

"I did a background check on him obviously, Dave. It's a really amazing program. They offered Cloud a scholarship. A scholarship! In Midgar! A boarding school even. And its only for the exceptionally gifted too"

"Yeah and we all know what they fucking mean by gifted. Jules, listen. You've seen the news. Midgar is lost. Mutants get hunted there like fucking dogs. And you want Cloud to go there? Where he can be caught? This is my son, our son we're talking about. Nibelheim is safe, it's quiet, we can just-"

"Just what? Wait for him to bring down the house?" The blonde woman reached out and patted the brunet on the arm comfortingly.

"I know," she muttered softly, leaning forward to wrap her thin arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. "I know you're trying your best to help us. And I admire you so much for being so strong and supportive. But this is out of our hands now, and it's not your fault. Beside's Cloud can be with people like himself. He could really learn. There won't be another opportunity like this"

David was quiet. For a couple of seconds, the only sound that could be heard was of the neighbors mowing their lawn. He reached forward to gently stroke his wife's head slightly.

"If Cloud asks even once to come back-"

Julie Strife smiled tiredly, "I know."

* * *

"Can't we really go with him to Midgar?" Julie turned to David as he carried his son's suitcase out back where their car was parked. Said blond was still upstairs, having requested a final moment to himself.

"Jules, this is already hard for him and us. If we go with him all the way there it'll be even harder for us to say goodbye and it'll only upset Cloud even more. I would love nothing more though." David gave her a soft peck on the cheek, squeezing her shoulder as he maneuvered the suitcase into the trunk.

"You really think he's okay with this? He took to the news too calmly for me. Even though it's been a month." He turned to face Julie and looking at his wife in the sunlight made him notice just how tired she looked. There were dark bags under her eyes, her complexion pale, her eyes tinged slightly red and tired.

"Cloudie's tough. But I think he's secretly wanted to get out of here as well. You know he's never really gotten along with anyone except for Tifa. This could be good for him in general. He's always wanted to travel you know." The blond smiled softly as they made their way back inside the house.

"How is Tifa by the way?" David recalled the brown haired girl that had been Cloud's bestfriend for almost all of his sixteen years. She'd visited him last night, to bid him a final goodbye.

"Poor girl didn't take the news well. She's happy for Cloud though and his 'leaving to pursue a proper education in Midgar'. Remind me to invite her over later tonight? I'll make her a cheesecake, she really likes those. Nathan's going to probably be working late again." Julie sat down onto the comfy couch as Cloud climbed down the staircase.

David turned to look at his son properly for the last time before he left. At sixteen, Cloud was a little scrawny and too skinny to put David at ease. His sunny blond hair was in its signature spiky hairstyle, covered by a snow cap. Nibelheim was custom to extremely cold weather but Midgar would be warmer and Cloud had made sure to not dress too warmly. His large aquamarine blue eyes blinked at him, covered by thick rimmed fashionable glasses. His nose and cheeks were dusted slightly pink from the cold, mouth drawn into a thin line. His 5'6 frame was wrapped up in a coat and a muffler, handmedown clothes that were once his own, hanging a little loosely on Cloud's narrow shoulders and frame.

"Dad, the silence is really creeping me out. Are you okay?" The blond tilted his head slightly, confused and a little worried. He always worried about his parents, and for once he actually thought about how this would impact them instead of himself. How they'd be alone while he was away for an undefined period of time until further notice. Cloud knew his parents and how much they worried about him. His mother had singlehandedly tried to bond with her only son as much as she could the past week, something which both pleased and saddened him immensely. His dad meanwhile had taken to banning the very mention of Midgar, him leaving and 'Shinra Institute for the Gifted'. Here now, standing and looking at both of his parents, Cloud could feel fear and anxiety bubble in him, his chest tightening.

"I'm fine, just making sure you're properly covered. God knows you actually care about your own health." David muttered as Cloud moved past him to get his shoes beside the kitchen door.

"Hey, that was one time okay? And the forecast was sunny." The blond muttered as he straightened up turning to them again.

"Listen, Cloud." David started, immediately causing the atmosphere of the room to become tense. "If you-"

"Dad, please no. Don't-, we've discussed this." The two looked at each other silently for a while before the younger blond sighed quietly. "Talking about this will only make this harder on me. I need this, we need this if not for myself, for you guys. You deserve a normal life."

Julie got up and reached forward to grab Cloud's hands, "You listen to me okay? We love you the way you are. You deserve everything, and this will do it for you. We love you so much and support you no matter what. Always remember that." Cloud nodded, slightly smiling as Julie squeezed his hands.

"You keep contact with us, okay? Emails, phonecalls, everything, every week. Are we clear?" David reached up to his wife and son, wrapping his arm around his boy's shoulders.

Cloud nodded slightly, looking down on the floor because he knew, for sure, if he looked into his mother and father's eyes, he'd break down. And all that preparation over the past month wouldn't have been for anything. He couldn't break down, not right now. Not when he needed to be strong, for his parents.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to follow his parents out the door, the lights switching off on their own behind him with a click.


	2. Cloud II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud was just outside the door when his nose bumped into someone's chest. Or what he assumed was a chest, because it felt more like a brick wall. He blinked and stepped a little back, and looked up to stare back into familiar pale green eyes.
> 
> Seriously? At least this time there weren't tables nearby to flail at accidentally.
> 
> "Hello!...Again." Sephiroth, from what Zack had called him, just looked at Cloud bemusedly.
> 
> "So you do recognize me."
> 
> "Um. Yes? I'm pretty sure I remember all of the people I humiliate myself in front of..." Cloud muttered, shifting from foot to foot. He was staring at Sephiroth with wide eyes who was yet to move out of the way.
> 
> "Hn. I figured you might not since it wasn't my face you were looking at intently the last time."

**Tuesday, February 2014**

* * *

Cloud frowned as he walked through the seemingly unending hallway he had been directed to upon his arrival at the Institute. If Shinra had seemed massive in the brochures, it was nothing compared to the real thing; as if Midgar itself wasn't intimidating enough. The blond was sure the huge city could house five times the population of quiet Nibelheim, maybe even more. Upon arriving via two train rides at a station situated in the West Quadrant of Lower Midgar (yes because apparently Midgar had been divided into not only two parts but quadrants aswell. At this point Cloud had just decided to stop being surprised about anything), a limousine was waiting for the blond right outside the building, with a small note and what appeared to be a picture of him in the drivers hand. The middle-aged man, possibly in his 30's, had smiled at him politely albiet stiffly, as he took his luggage and placed it in the trunk before opening the passenger door for him. Cloud had nodded at him politely, giving the older man a soft awkward smile before getting in the car.

He had fidgeted throughout the car ride which took a reasonable 30 minutes, because Midgar traffic and apparently because Shinra was situated in the far East Quadrant of Upper Midgar secluded from the central part of the city, before arriving behind a huge iron-wrought gate bounded by huge thick stone walls, dark gray in colour, that seemed to loom over the limo and surround the campus for what seemed to be miles and miles. It looked more like a miniature castle than a school to be honest. Cloud thought it looked a bit weird in a city as advanced and modernized as Midgar.

He had taken a couple of minutes just to gaze at the vast fields that surrounded the main driveway, seemingly going on forever around the main building towards the back. There was a huge beautiful marble fountain just near the main entrance staircase, tall and imposing, with what appeared to be the statue of Rufus Shinra at the very top; stoic and composed in a suit with eyes that had seemed to follow his every move as Cloud walked up the staircase with only his bagpack and a folder containing all the documents required to finalize his admission. Ray, the driver, had told him his luggage would be brought up in a while.

The receptionist at the entrance, an even massive room with a huge set of doors lining along all four of the surrounding walls, was a middle-aged woman in a tight grey sleek business suit with sleeked back red hair and piercing green eyes who had identified herself as Donna. She had read through his documents and registration notes with a dry clipped tone, eyes boring into him with a penetrative stare as she handed him a slip of paper with a huge 3 stamped in red at the top right corner. The rest of the admission process didn't take long, Julia and David Strife having been here a couple of days ago to do most of the important work. Donna had motioned for him to head towards Rufus Shinra's office, the Principal and Owner of the Campus along with being the namesake, pointing to one of the many hallways along the left wall before thrusting what, in his opinion, appeared to be a completely useless map.

All of this led to Cloud sighing as he turned another corner into a silent and mostly empty hallway, apart from the occasional stay student - he assumed as they looked about his age - and what appeared to be staff members that walked past him. He huffed as he turned to look at the map again. Blond eyebrows knitted together in frustration as he glanced at the paper and then back up at the end of the pathway where an Elevator should have been present. He was about to give up and go back to Donna and endure an eye roll and judgmental eyebrows when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Cloud blinked as he turned slightly towards his left to the boy who stood there staring at him, a slight grin breaking his face open into an excited expression. He looked around his age, maybe even younger, and about his height maybe a few inches smaller with a messy head of dark brown spiked hair, bright blue eyes and a smooth tanned face as he held out a right hand, which appeared to be covered in a black glove, for the blond to shake.

"Hi there! Ohmygod, are you new? Because I think can recognize much everyone here, not that uh I've been _stalking_ anyone per say because I'm in the Photography Club and I take pictures you see?-" He paused to point at the CANON camera that dangled from the strap around his smooth neck. Cloud only blinked in response.

"..not that that doesn't lessen the whole stalkery image you might be thinking, shit, I think I should start over. Sometimes I just start rambling; Roxas calls it verbal diarrhoea but I think-"

"I'm Cloud." He offered, smiling slightly, as the boy only flushed, neck turning pink as he scratched his neck before lowering his arm. Which Cloud hadn't shook. Because he just came across as a rude idiot, fuck.

"Hi! Sorry, I'm Sora. Holani. Sora Holani, Grade 12!" He jerked a thumb in his direction before tilting a head at the blond. "Another new kid in less than a week. That's never happened before."

"Oh. Um, really? Because I was uh supposed to come a few weeks ago but my parents, they weren't really, I guess.." He broke off and shrugged at Sora awkwardly who just blinked at him in response before nodding slightly and grinning.

"It's okay, totally cool mister. So I guess you're heading to the Princie's?" He nodded at the map.

"Well. I was trying to, but this map. I think it just made thinks worse; how _big_ is this place." He muttered as he waved a general arm across the room in an abortive move before lowering it. Sora only rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know right? But you totally get used to it. And you _are_ lost buddy. Completely. But think of it as a right of passage! I was lost for like half an hour before someone finally helped the first time I came here." He patted Cloud on the shoulder before taking the map from him and folding it up. "You don't need this when you've got Sora on the job." With that he started walking back towards the last hallway and Cloud hurried to fall into step with him.

"So um, are you from Midgar or?" Sora looked at him questioningly as he led Cloud through a complicated set of hallways.

"No no. Didn't um the deer-caught-in-headlights expression gave me away?" Sora just grinned in response. "I'm from Nibelheim."

"Ooh, cold! That's the north. I love it! I make a mean snowman." He waggled his eyebrows and Cloud grinned in response.

This was nice, he didn't expect to meet someone he found easy to talk to so..well, easily. Making friends wasn't something he was used to. In Nibelheim everyone know everyone and groups were made from a very early age; he was just lucky Tifa and Hunter needed that pack of crayons the third day in Kindergarten.

"What about you?"

"Oh I'm from Destiny Islands not too far from here." Sora nodded, "My twin's here too, Roxas. I'll introduce you!" The brunet looked excited now, eyes twinkling. The blond only nodded hesitatingly.

"I like your glasses by the way," Sora giggled. " _Very_ hipster Cloud." The blond only smiled wider, huffing playfully.

"Hey, I carried this look before it was cool, okay?" He got a playful eye roll in response.

"You're being hipster about being hipster!" Cloud just laughed. This next hallway was a little wider with a huge wooden door at the very end of it between two portraits. They appeared to be Van Goh's. There were more people here too, possibly students, all of whom were eyeing Cloud curiously. He shuffled a little closer to Sora. They came to a stop just behind the door.

"Well, here you go buddy. Rufus Shinra." Sora patted him on the shoulder lightly. He took out a pen from his pocket and scribbled something on the back of Cloud's map. "Here's my number. Just text me when you're all settled okay?" Cloud nodded, smiling slightly.

"Hey, um. Thankyou and stuff. For uh youknow. Helping out. I'd probably have gotten embarrassingly lost and would have walked into a classroom or something." The brunet just grinned and flicked him on the neck before walking away after giving him a victory sign. "Welcome to Shinra!" Cloud just shook his head smiling slightly before turning to look at the huge door. He sighed.

Sora had been distracting, and for a minute Cloud had forgotten where he was and why he was here. He suddenly felt cold and clammy, rubbing his hands together and then against his jean-clad thighs. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was in Midgar, so far away from Nibelheim and his parents. With people who were possibly like him. Sora included. The idea both filled him with curiosity and unease. It also made him think of wide innocent blue eyes and a bone curling scream. Maybe Joey Locke was here too?

He reached forward to knock on the wooden door slightly. The door was thick and cool against his fist. He lowered his hand and waited, clutching at the paper with the huge red 3 in his hand, rubbing his green Converse against the carpeted hallway. After a while, there was a response.

"Come in." The voice was even, calm and devoid of any emotion. Cool and indifferent. Cloud sighed as he twisted the knob and slowly entered.

The room was large and bright, a huge set of windows along the wall just across of him, which seemed to look out into the bright green fields he had just been admiring earlier, and surrounded by huge bookshelves against the walls. There was a huge mahogany desk to the right, surface all neat and covered neatly with various assortments of books and documents and a register. There was a thick folder on the left side. Behind the desk sat a man, tall maybe 6 foot?, and lean, dressed in a regal looking black suit with a black tie, his platinum blond hair tied back into a ponytail, pale blue eyes zoning onto his form at the entrance, eyes drawn into a thin line, firm and unassuming. His hands were crossed on the table, rolling a pen in between his hands. Those cold eyes continued to gaze at him and the blond felt a little uncomfortable, unease spreading through his body as he entered the room quietly and plopped his bag at a nearby small chair next to the door. He stood there for a moment before reaching forward towards the desk and took a seat opposite to the man.

He coughed. "Um, hi. I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife. I'm new here, you talked to my parents? The receptionist said to talk to y-you."

Rufus Shinra assessed him for a moment before nodding at him, giving him a small polite smile. He reached out to lightly pat Cloud's hand that rested on the desk.

"I know who you are, of course. Welcome to my little institute Mr. Strife. I'm pleased glad you could make it." Cloud only nodded in response. Rufus took the slip of paper from him and took a pen, scribbling something on it. He placed the pen back before returning his gaze onto him. The smaller blond couldn't help but feel sort of naked and exposed. Like he could see through him.

"So you um, know? About.." He fidgeted with his hands, slightly nervous.

"Ah, yes. You're little gift. Don't worry. You are not alone here. Your parents left you in good hand."

Cloud waited for him to continue.

"Shinra was built somewhere in the middle of the 1980's, by my grandfather. I've been running this institute for the past two decades now, for children and adult like, people similar to us. Kin, you could say. Sometimes that is truly the best way to learn, isn't it? To be with your own. I know you've been having some difficulties."

"How do you.."

"I too have certain talents at my disposal. A limited form of Telepathy which allows me the unique skill to read minds. A fascinating skill, wouldn't you say?" Cloud opened his mouth and then closed it. _Telepathy?_ All of this seemed so unreal. He had only known of Joseph. And him. The idea that there were more with so many different talents, it was overwhelming. And yet he felt like he should have been more panicked. Rufus smiled at him.

"It's a little useful technique to have certainly." He tapped at his temples lightly, with a long elegant finger, before gazing back at Cloud. "Just to keep that panic at ease." Cloud just stared at him with widened eyes.

"Alas, you two have a unique gift too, I would say." He was silent for a while and the blond looked at him, waiting for more. Rufus only raised his eyebrows slightly. Oh. _Oh._

Cloud coughed slightly, scratching his neck softly, before furrowing his eyebrows. Two seconds later, the pen in Rufus's hand started hovering before wobbling and falling back onto the desk with a clack.

"Wonderful." Rufus had this look in his eyes, unreadable, and a pleased smile on his face. "It is a harsh world out there, I'm afraid. The world has yet to accept us; but I believe those days are soon upon us indeed. You are here to learn in an environment where you don't have to fear being caught or found out and prosecuted Cloud. We're your family now." He turned to the huge folder, flipping it open in the middle to a new page. He scribbled something on it in a neat flowy handwriting. "You are also here to learn how to control this skill. Because while the world will eventually learn to accept us, we need to prepare young ones to be able to mask themselves amongst peers. This Institute can offer education only so far. But control is not hard to obtain. The mind, the source of our mutation at its center, can be tamed; with handwork and determination. Which is why I am here to help. You do not need to be afraid of it." He closed the book before turning to Cloud.

"Your belongings have been taken to your room. You'll be sharing a room with someone I believe who may be of great help to you, Cloud. His name is Zachary Fair. A year above you, if I'm wrong." Cloud just nodded along to everything, rubbing at the skin along the underside of his wrist. He felt a little daunted, and just wanted to be alone enough to text his parents, or Tifa, in a way. Maybe Sora. Rufus slid two sheets of paper towards him. The blond accepted them. One of them was a schedule, and the other listed a room with a number along with the floor number.

"You'll be given a day off to adjust before you continue classes on Thursday. I've consulted with your parents and your teachers from Nibelheim, and you'll be continuing your studies and the subjects you've already chosen." The shorter blond blinked and nodded, smiling politely when Rufus turned to gaze at him imploringly.

"Every week you will meet me for an hour on Wednesday from 7 pm to 8 pm. Dinner is always at 8:30 and students are not allowed to roam around the campus or the fields after 9. We have a guidance counselor in employ, Dr Vincent, if you desire any further help regarding your academics or have any inquiries. Dr Hojo, our resident physician, will meet you later tonight just for a check up, before your official stay begins." Rufus stood up and opened a drawer from his side. He took out a long silver chain, with a small half moon dangling at the other end. He placed it in front of Cloud. The blond took it hesitantly, running his fingers over the cool metal, along the S and I carvings along the moon.

"It is a symbol of our home and this is your identification, confirming your residence here. You will be assigned a proper ID card, Library card and an Accommodation Card from Donna after your check up tonight. All these items are mandatory for you to posses should you choose to leave this institute for reasons. There is a bus station 5 minutes walk from the campus which can take you to Central Midgard." Cloud slipped the cool chain around his neck. The moon seemed to hang heavy against his chest as it slipped inside. "All facilities are paid for. You will receive monthly allowance from Donna every week following our weekly meetings on Thursday."

The tall blond walked behind Cloud and patted his head slightly, squeezing his shoulder with the other.

"I hope for you to settle in easily, Mr. Strife, and for us to be comfortable with one another." Cloud smiled at him softly as he got up, taking his bag with him. As he reached for the door, he turned around.

"Thankyou. For everything. Thank-thank you." He worried his bottom lip as Rufus only stared at him before nodding at him. His smile was small and brief.

Cloud shut the door behind him as quietly as he could.

* * *

The blond knocked on the door of R38, Floor 3, slightly. He had managed to somehow find his way here but not entirely from his own effort. Luckily there had been a very nice and helpful janitor roaming around Rufus' office who had offered to take him. Cloud couldn't get over the fact that there were elevators in this campus.

Getting no reply, Cloud crinkled his nose as he twisted the knob slightly and entered. The room wasn't too big but bigger then the one he had back home, definitely. Probably because it was accommodating two people. There was a narrow passage near the entrance, at the foot of which were a pair of someone's sneakers placed messily. The walls near the door were lined with three of Cloud's luggage bags on top of which he proceeded to place his bag. Walking further in, the passage opened into a modest sized living room. There was a medium sized sofa at one hand, near a bookshelf, next to a small TV. A coffee table was placed in between. The floor was wooden, with a soft rug in the center. There was a music system on the other end of the wall next to a Foosball table and a disconnected Xbox set. A few photo frames hung from the walls, people he obviously didn't know but presumed were Zack and his friends or family. There was a beanbag next to a table stacked with what appeared to be study books; Math and Chemistry. A pile of clothes lay on the floor next to the couch. A laptop lay on a a single armchair next to the table. Finally at the furthest end, next to the what he assumed was one of the doors to the bedroom, was a was a medium length window looking out into one of the schools buildings. He shuffled across a door that came into view and twisted it to find that it was locked. He shrugged and assumed it was the bathroom; hoping the occupant hadn't noticed his attempt. Scratching at his arm and tugging at his sleeve, he reached for another door, opening to see that it was next to empty. It wasn't that small actually. A double bed lay along one of the three walls facing opposite the door. On either side were two side tables and next to the bed was what he assumed was a closet. A small desk lay along one wall, with a study chair.

Cloud was leaving his room to bring his luggage in when the door of the bathroom open when someone walked out of the shower.

It was a guy. Really tall like 6'1 (was everyone a giant here?), with wet pale silver hair slicked back into a loose ponytail and bangs framing his wet face. Pale green eyes looked at him intently, silver eyebrow raised, as the blond took in the fact that he was very very naked, except for the towel wrapped around his trim waist, exposing wet pale skin stretched over a broad shoulders and a wide muscled chest. He blinked before flushing heavily, feeling his neck warm around the collar of his T-Shirt.

"Um, uh. So you're probably Zack. Hi, I'm Cloud. You're new roommate. Sorry for not announcing my...entry. I thought you might be away. I don't know why I thought that. I'll just let you get ready then, yeah." He nodded determinedly before turning around, only to knock into the table with the study books, toppling them down noisily on the floor.

Cloud blinked at the floor, then at the Zack and then at the floor again. He looked back up to see the silver-haired boy looking at him with a bemused expression on his face.

"Sorry sorry! I have this problem with flailing, hold on." He reached forward to grab the books only to bump his hip into the side of the table hard. With a hiss he immediately stepped back.

"Um. Can we..just not pretend this happened. I'll just take my stuff in my room while you get dressed. Yes." With a determined nod, Cloud quickly shuffled to his bag and luggage, grabbing on and proceeding to drag it towards his room.

Zack just stood there, leaning against the wall, in a _towel_ (wasn't he cold?) staring at him with a cool expression on his face; like he was assessing him over. When he walked out, the other male was no where in sight and Cloud hurried to bring the other two luggage's in before he embarrassed himself further. He was just putting his last bag in and crawling into his bed and contemplating not coming out for an entire week when he heard the door to the main room open.

"Seph! Shit, you won't believe what they have for dessert tonight! I totally flirted my way through one of the assistants in the kitchens to find out. It's definitely a secondary mutant power I tell you. _CARAMEL PUDDING!_ We are so getting there early, before Sora especially. Dude!" Cloud heard a snort.

"Stop talking so loud, and you have a roommate." Cloud frowned confused. Wait, so hot shirtless guy he just embarrassed himself in front of _wasn't_ Zack?

"Rooma-oh! He's here already!" The blond could hear the exclamation marks in that sentence. He was untangling himself from the impressive cocoon he had managed to crawl under when the door to his bedroom opened.

A tall, because why not, raven haired pale boy with blue eyes approached him, a warm grin on his face. He was dressed, thankfully, in a soft looking blue sweater and jeans.

"Hey there! I'm your roommate, Zack." He plopped down on the corner of Cloud's bed as the blond extracted himself and slowly sat down cross legged in the middle.

"Um, hello. I'm uh Cloud." The blond swore he was introducing himself to so many people in one day then he had had in the past couple of years. "Mr. Shinra said I was supposed to stay here...um." He offered quietly, a little awkward. He wasn't good at small talk. That was always Tifa. He should have texted her at this point at least. And his parents. Oh fuck.

"You okay? Look a little.." Zack scrunched his face to make a constipated expression and Cloud turned red.

"No no. I just uh. First day and everything, you know. It's all very.." He flailed his hands a little, spreading them out a little. "I've never been away from home." Zack looked at him quietly before nodding, smiling brightly.

"Don't sweat it blondie, I'll take care of you. No sweat, we're going to be roomies after all huh." He reached forward to ruffle Cloud's head violently, startling the other boy.

"Haha woah, that's an impressive bed head you've got there. Pretty sure that one spike took out an eye. Almost." The older boy winked as Cloud smiled slightly.

"Are you in um, my year?" Zack shook his head.

"Nah, bro. A year above, don't let this youthful face deceive you." He winked at the blond. He patted the bed suddenly before getting up. "I'll let you get settled in and comfortable, okay? Call your folks back at home. Unpack. It'll help I swear, makes the whole thing a little easier to adjust to. Sorry for not cleaning the place up before. Shinra had told me you were coming a few days back, I just uh.." He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"It's cool, I'm pretty lazy too." He offered a lazy grin, rolling his eyes as Zack grinned back.

"Enjoy the day off while it lasts! Never has time been more wisely spent than sleeping in." With a salute the older male walked out of the room, shouting something at his friend. His friend who had just let Cloud ramble at him while the blond gawked at him unabashedly. Oh god.

With a groan he plopped his head onto a pillow.

Reaching into his pocket, he took his phone out and swiped the lock screen open. He had two texts from Tifa, and four from Mum and a call from Dad. He sighed as he hit Call under his Dad's name. The call rang for a few seconds before coming to a stop. Cloud rolled his eyes slightly, a soft smile pulling at his lips. His Dad always let his battery drain away into power mode where the volume automatically went down. Something heavy pulled at his chest and he sighed as he laid back on his bed.

Shina seemed...overwhelming and daunting. But a part of him couldn't help but be excited. Today was the first time he had showed his powers to someone other than his parents that had resulted in a positive reaction; Hunter had always led him to believe he had to hide away from people and had spent most of his life trying to concentrate on not slipping up at any moment. Telekinesis had a bad habit of reacting to his moods. And Cloud was embarrassingly emotional sometimes.

But with Rufus, he had felt so calm. He probably guessed that had to do with something along the older blond's gifts but that even sort of put him at ease. The idea that everyone here was like him. It made him feel really relaxed, and sort of at home? The idea of what Sora could be. And Zack. It made him curious and a little excited.

But he still missed his parents. And Nibelheim. Cloud didn't really do well with change and Midgar was a pretty big slap to the face, figuratively. He tried his Mom now.

She picked up after the third ring.

"Hey baby." His mom's voice came out tinny through the mouth piece. Cloud smiled widely, warmth spreading through his chest. He missed his parents so bad.

"Hi mom. How-how are you?"

"Us? What about you. Sweetie, is everything going okay? Rufus called us to tell us you had settled in your room at this point."

"Yeah I mean. I'm in my room. It's really nice. And I met my roommate. He's really nice too."

"That's really good to hear. Was your trip okay? Is Midgar cold? I knew I should've dressed you warmer still. I keep telling Dave to get you clothes that actually fit, I mean-"

"Mom _Mom._ I'm okay. I'm actually fitting in well, so far. I made a friend. He showed me around. I got lost. I mean ofcourse I did, you know me-"

"That's wonderful. I always tell you, you sell yourself too short. How can anyone reject that face."

Cloud only grinned. "His name is Sora and he invited me to hangout with him too, so maybe I'll do that after a little nap. I mean, I have to go get this checkup with the physician and get some stuff from the receptionist like school ID and things. It'll probably be a busy day."

"Call us whenever you feel like it, okay? Like whenever."

"Even if you're asleep? Because you know how bad I am at time differences-"

"Whenever okay? Your Dad's asleep and I'll tell him you called. But I think he'll ring you back because he's your Dad that way." The blond only smiled and nodded, even though she couldn't see.

"I'm just..I don't know. I feel like this could be good. For us. Ever since Christmas.." He went quiet. "Rufus said he was going to help me with that."

"This school is going to be good for you, I told you so. These are good people. I did some very intense research. We wouldn't hand you over that easily. Don't worry too much about us okay? We support you 100%. We supported you when you made our bed float at 3 in the morning, we continued to support you after..Christmas and Hunter, and we will always support you with whatever you do. Love you so much, kiddo." Cloud blinked away the burning in his eyes, rubbing them with a sleeve.

"Give Dad a hug from me okay? This was the first day I wasn't around to help him with his Crossword Puzzles and you know how much he likes to brag about that to Mr Lockhart." Julia only laughed in response. Cloud hadn't heard his mother sound like that in so so long.

"I'll text Tifa in a bit, she's probably freaking out. She thinks you guys sent me off to boarding school as punishment." Julia was quiet on the other end.

"Maybe that's why she was so stiff when I made her a pie earlier today. She was really upset at you going."

"Do you think I should-" They were both silent for a few seconds before his Mother coughed, clearing her throat.

"It's upto you, kiddo. I know you were pretty shaken up with Hunter." Cloud only rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Let's see. I'm sorry if she starts giving you the evil eye every time you see each other now." Julia only laughed.

"It's nothing to us, Cloudster. You rest up."

"I will. After you tell me about your day!"

"Okay, so you know today I was going to the-"

The blond found himself laughing and smiling alongside his Mom until he slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Cloud blinked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one palm as his phone buzzed again, bathing his face with a white glow. He reached forward to look at the time; it was 5:23pm. With a yawn, he stretched his arms, climbing out of his sweater and muffler, readjusting his tee before getting up. He had slept on his left hand and left an imprint; the skin was all red and pressed. The blond walked out and into the washroom, turning on the tap at the sink, and splashed his face with some water. After washing away the sleep, he put his glasses back on, yawning as he walked into his bedroom with the mission to unpack in his mind. He hated this part, but he couldn't really push it any furthur. The blond also felt like he needed something to do because he had three hours to kill before he met Dr Hojo. For some reason he still didn't want to go and find Sora and his group of friends and had an excuse if the brunet asked later (he was a terrible liar, and even worse at socializing). He still had those new kid awkward vibes.

Cloud had programmed Sora in his phone though, before he fell asleep. He had sent the brunet a text and had gotten a :* emoji in reply.

He was unpacking his last bag, placing his shoes in the closet when the Room door opened yet again.

"Hey Cloudie! I have cupcakes! And if you don't hurry your cute little butt over here, I won't be held responsible for their disappearance. My stomach knows no limits." Zack's bright voice poured into his room and Cloud rolled his eyes, grinned softly.

He had a snort in reply and he took stock of his appearance before he walked out into the living room. Zack was with a a tall, skinny brunette girl with long flowly hair tied in a ribbon dressed in casual sweater and jeans, and a girl about his height, with dark hair in a onesided ponytail, and mischievous hazel eyes, dressed in a loose baggy hoodie and red skinny's.

"Ooh, ohmygod. _Aeris_ , look at him!" The shorter girl grinned wide, eyes bright as she literally _bounced_ her way towards him. Cloud could only blink as the girl grabbed him by his forearm, dragging him towards the other two. The other girl, Aeris, gave the dark-haired girl a reprimanding look before sighing and smiling warmly at Cloud. She was sitting on the sofa next to Zack who was busy inhaling cupcakes, frosting speared across his mouth.

"Look away, it'll benefit you in the long run." Aeris patted Zack on the shoulder slowly, turning to Cloud.

"How is he-" He opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

"My boyfriend's a man of very surprising talents." Aeris offered, eyes amused and full of warmth as she crossed her legs elegantly, reaching out to take a cupcake and nibble at it.

"Enough about him! Hi Im Yuffie!" The other girl, Yuffie, waggled her eyebrows at him, poking him in the arm. "What do they call you, mister?"

"Um. Cloud Strife, Hi." He offered a hand politely, a little wary and frankly terrified of the girl in front of him.

Yuffie only rolled her eyes before reaching forward to pinch his cheeks. "You're like a little plushie toy! Zack, I call trade!" Yuffie declared as she moon walked, literally _moon walked_ , towards Zack and the cupcake plate on the coffee table.

Zack pulled back, affronted.

" _Dude._ Nope, never. I'm not getting Brooklyn, she freaks me out. Even if you somehow convinced Shinra because last time I checked, you're a chick. Allegedly." He turned to Cloud. "Don't ever challenge her to an arm wrestling match. Unless you're like Leon." He looked at him with wide eyes.

Cloud tilted his head curiously as he sat next to the coffee table and took a cupcake.

"Is that you're um, mutant thing? Power, err, ability." Yuffie only grinned and Cloud flushed.

"Nah, Cloudie. I have something _way_ more fun." With a wide grin, she reached forward to the middle of the coffee table and Cloud watched with wide blue eyes, as her hand went _right through it._

"Yep. I can pass through objects. Pretty cool huh?" The girl winked at him before pushing between Aeris and Zack, both who complained loudly, nudging between them and resting her legs on the table. Aeris frowned and shoved her legs off the table softly.

"Our very own Shadowcat here." Zack nudged her in the ribs.

"Yep. And Aeris can totally open a side business of palmistry."

"What do you mean?" The blond turned to Aeris curiously. He looked at her with wide eyes. "You can look into the future? That's..." Aeris only laughed and ruffled his hair. Was this like a thing?

"No no. Nothing like that. I just..see things sometimes. If I focus and hold someones hand. Glimpses of their immediate future. Zack only grinned even wider and entwined his fingers with her.

"Yep. Babe held my hand the very first time and just knew she was hooked forever." Aeris snorted at this, something which even Cloud could tell was slightly uncharacteristic.

"I only saw us going on _one_ date-"

"Which clearly was enough, because, just look at me." The guy laughed as Yuffie made a gagging sound.

"That must make things really really awkward, wouldn't it though? I mean meeting people?" The blond questioned as he grinned triumphantly, snatching the last cupcake from Zack. Said boy pouted at him in mock hurt.

"Oh yeah. Definitely. But not nearly as annoying and awkward as falling asleep in your bed and waking up underneath it." Yuffie rolled her eyes as Zack just laughed.

Cloud grinned. He felt his phone buzz and he reached out for it. _One Text Message, Tifa._

_You're not dead are you? Just say the word and I'll come up with a heist! :3_

_Hahaha, Teef. Hey. :) I was planning on calling you earlier. But I fell asleep. I'll call you tonight I swear. This place isn't bad at all._

_Hmm. I can't tell if this is genuine or you're being held captive._

_..What._

_What._

_Dork. No, but really. (: I'm okay_

_If you're sure. I'm milking the whole mad at your parents thing for a little while longer though. They're making me baked goods, Cloud.._

Cloud only snorted. He looked up to see all three of them looking back at him.

"Um...hi?" He blinked, and they blinked back.

"Hi. So what's blondie get up his sleeve?" Zack raised his eyebrows curiously.

"I was betting on having the power of super adorableness or Fashionista extraordinaire because the whole hipster thing is really going for you," Yuffie offered. "But Ruf' said Zack would be able to help so that rules that out because he thinks orange goes with blue. _Blue._ " Zack let out an indignant "Hey!" as Aeris nodded at Cloud seriously, in agreement with Yuffie.

Cloud only laughed nervously, flushing red, as he fidgeted with the edge of the coffee table. The half moon felt colder and heavier than usual against his skin. "I sort of..do this thing sometimes." And with that a sock lying near the couch started floating in air. It wobbled a bit for a while before coming down.

"I can do only small stuff, really, and for only little while, most of the time but-"

" _Ohmygod._ You're like Zack v2.0. Nature made a _Zack_ upgrade!" Yuffie cackled as Zack glared at her. Aeris only rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Cloud looked at Zack curiously. The boy shrugged his broad shoulders, grinning softly as he winked and _the TV set behind them started floating._

He startled, flailing, and falling from back on his butt from where he was crouched on his knees. The TV set was only two inches above the ground and stayed still until it slowly came down to rest.

"Oh, so-you're a telekinetic too?" Zack just shook his head.

"Not really? Sort of. I can manipulate metal in anything. Basically." And then he grinned. "Hey Cloudster, we're literally mutant bros. High five, gimme it!" He reached out to the blonde who chuckled, smiling widely and slowly meeting his outstretched palm.

* * *

Aeris and Yuffie had stayed a while longer until the former got a call from her roommate, a girl named Rinoa and she dragged Yuffie with her; the latter was trying to make Cloud get her to fly.

He wasn't that gifted, unlike Zack. When he told the other boy this after they finished cleaning the place up, (well he cleaned the place up and Zack just tried to stay out of his way as much as he could. Which was all the better too, the older boy just made a bigger mess whenever he tried to help the blonde), he just snorted at Cloud.

"I'm sure that's our whole purpose here blondie. We're supposed to help each other." He reached forward to bump his fist against Cloud's cheek as the latter sat on the floor next to the sofa. They were clicking through the channels, not really watching it. Cloud hummed thoughtfully.

"So are you from Midgard?" Zack nodded slightly. "Yep. I was born in Gongaga but we moved here sometime later though and ever since that we've lived in Lower Midgard. Knew Yuffie from around those parts well before too, even though she's Wutainese. Nowhere near as fancy as Seph or Aer'." Then he turned to the blond curiously. "You met Seph earlier! Right?"

Cloud just flushed. He nodded slowly, staring straight at the television screen.

"Hope he didn't scare you away. He can be a little grumpy. But don't worry, that's mostly his resting bitch face. Seph is a huge softy." The blond coughed.

"Nothing really happened. Um, he was just leaving the shower and I was coming out of the bedroom and walked into a table. And um, yeah. Left as quick as I could to die quietly in a corner. Thought he was you." Zack laughed out loud at this.

"Pretty sure you're the first one who saw Seph naked and decided to kill himself. Ooh, I'll let him know." He winked at the blond who only widened his eyes and made an x across the chest at Zack.

The raven haired boy leaned across the sofa to check his phone. "Hey buddy, it's 8. Don't you have to go to the Doc'?" Cloud nodded and got up, walking into his room to slip on his shoes and a jacket. Zack looked at him thoughtfully.

"Dude, we should get you some new clothes. Why is everything hanging off you?" Cloud down at him. He furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't think he looked that bad.

"Um, this are my Dad's. Handmedowns, um.." Zack blinked at him before nodding.

"Oh yeah, sure. Sorry, that came off a little insensitive." He ran a hand through his hair but Cloud just smiled at him softly.

"I still don't feel comfortable with you in those. What are you, 110 pounds wet? You could be blown away with a strong breeze! "

"We're...inside."

"It could still happen!"

Cloud only laughed. "Keep an eye out for flying blonds then." Zack grinned and slapped a hand to his chest mock seriously.

"Scout's honour, bro."

Cloud was just outside the door when his nose bumped into someone's chest. Or what he assumed was a chest, because it felt more like a brick wall. He blinked and stepped a little back, and looked up to stare back into familiar pale green eyes.

Seriously? At least this time there weren't tables nearby to flail at accidentally.

"Hello!...Again." Sephiroth, from what Zack had called him, just looked at Cloud bemusedly.

"So you do recognize me."

"Um. Yes? I'm pretty sure I remember all of the people I humiliate myself in front of..." Cloud muttered, shifting from foot to foot. He was staring at Sephiroth with wide eyes who was yet to move out of the way.

"Hn. I figured you might not since it wasn't my face you were looking at intently the last time."

The blond blinked slowly before turning bright red.

"I wasn't-no-there wasn't, what? I didn't-you-I thought you were Zack-"

"Is this how you greet all your roommates? Huh." Cloud could only gape at him.

Sephiroth just rolled his eyes at him before sidestepping.

"Calm down. You look like you're about to explode." And with that he walked inside the room without a reply.

The blond could only stare at the door.

What?

* * *

Cloud shuffled through the evening crowd across the hallways, trying to find the quickest way to Dr Hojo's lab. Zack had taken his map and doodled on it, making it much easier to read, even though the boy's handwriting was horrible.

He was about to turn a corner into the final hallway that contained the Elevator that would take him up to Dr Hojo when he felt someone shove into him from the other side. He yelped, squeaking slightly as he fell on his back onto the carpeted floor. A warm heavy body landed on him partially with a grunt.

Cloud felt like his breathe had been knocked out, gasping as he tried to push the other person off of him. The other guy got up and then blinked at him before offering a thick well muscled arm. It was a dirty blond, with hair pulled into a green Beanie, dressed in a black wife beater and dirty ripped jeans with holes in them. He had a bruise under his eye and a split lip.

"You okay, squirt?" The guy grunted and lifted him up with ease and Cloud jerked out of his grip and just nodded, looking at him warily. He didn't know the whole bullying policy here but the guy definitely had a vibe.

"Uh, yeah totally fine. Sorry about um...coming around?" The guy just looked at him odd.

"Seifer. You new?" Cloud nodded his head. The other blond just flexed his right hand before nodding and turned around towards the way Cloud had come.

"Um, shouldn't you be going this way? I mean.." He waved a hand across Seifer's face who just looked at him for a split second before laughing.

"This? Nah, this ain't nothing kid. Squally's just pissed 'cause his girl likes me more." Cloud stared at him confused, but he heard a growl and footsteps behind him and turned around to stare at the other guy.

He was tall, tanned with dark brown hair and steel gray eyes. Compared to Seifer, he was more lean, but still muscled, with the way his broad shoulders were stretching his shirt and jacket (was that leather?), and Cloud blinked at the scar that ran from above one of his eyebrows across his forehead to across the bridge of his nose. It looked old and faded.

The guy, Squally?, looked extremely pissed off. His eyes were hard and his neck was flushed red with anger possibly, mouth tight and shoulders tense. He glared at Cloud for a split second, before completely ignoring him, and turning to Seifer.

"Don't talk to Rinoa again, Almasy. This is the last time." With that he brushed past Seifer with a rough shove. The older blond just rolled his eyes and winked at Cloud. With that he walked away casually as if he hadn't, what Cloud assumed, been beating up by Squally(?).

Cloud just took a deep breathe and grabbed his map off the floor and continued for Dr Hojo.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: Sorry for the slow build and the draggy of this chapter. I swear it will get faster once Cloud gets settled in.I introduced some of the characters here, still more to come. Next chapter is a bigger, main one. Because its from another characters perspective.
> 
> Cloud's timeline.
> 
> Age 5 - Powers first manifested
> 
> Age 10 - Joseph left
> 
> Age 11 - Noticed his powers, and then later confirmed.
> 
> Between Ages 11 - 16, Julia and David found out, Cloud told Hunter, Christmas incident, Rufus contacts them
> 
> Age 16 - Enrolled in Midgar
> 
> In order of appearance:
> 
> Cloud Strife - Telekinetic (Nibelheim)
> 
> Rufus Shina - Telepathy
> 
> Sora Holani - ? (Destiny Islands)
> 
> Sephiroth Valentine - ? (Upper Midgard)
> 
> Zack Fair - Metal Manipulation (Lower Midgard, Gongaga)
> 
> Aeris Gainsborough - Palm Reading, Touch Clairvoyance (Upper Midgard)
> 
> Yuffie Kisaragi - Ability to phase through walls (Lower Midgard, Wutai)
> 
> Rinoa - ?
> 
> Seifer - ?
> 
> Squall Leonhart - ?
> 
> Dr Hojo - ?

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline:
> 
> Cloud (Aged 3) – Befriends Joseph Locke, Tifa Lockhart and Hunter Lane
> 
> Cloud (Aged 5) – Playground incident with Aaron Williams
> 
> Cloud (Aged 10) – Birthday incident with Joseph
> 
> Cloud (Aged 10) – Joseph Locke and his mother left Nibelheim, The Davis family moved in
> 
> Cloud (Aged 11) – First acknowledged his power's manifesting
> 
> Cloud (Aged 11) – Attempted to willingly use powers, pebble incident
> 
> Cloud (Aged 11) – Nightmares started
> 
> Cloud (Aged ?) – Julie and David Strife find out
> 
> Cloud (Aged ?) – Fallout with Hunter Lane
> 
> Cloud (Aged 16) – Leaves for Midgar
> 
> LCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSL CSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCLSL CLCSLCSLCS
> 
> Cloud Strife – Telekenesis
> 
> LCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSL CSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCSLCLSL CLCSLCSLCS
> 
> Scenes left unexplained till later: Julie and David finding out about Cloud, The fallout with Hunter, the Christmas fiasco, Rufus contacting them, Cloud being told about Shinra, Cloud on his way to Shinra, Tifa and Cloud's goodbye


End file.
